This application claims priority of Taiwanese application no. 091220321, filed on Dec. 13, 2002.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a wood planing machine, more particularly to a wood planing machine with a shield member for a motor unit and a cutter member.
2. Description of the Related Art
In co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/155,617, filed on May 24, 2002, there is disclosed a wood planing machine that includes a support carriage mounted movably on a mounting frame for supporting a cutting shaft. A motor housing and a shaving collecting member are mounted on the support carriage. The shaving collecting member confines a shaving passage in the vicinity of the cutting shaft and in fluid communication with an air conduit such that an air stream introduced from the motor housing can entrain wood shavings collected in the shaving collecting member. A blower mechanism includes a drive shaft coupled to and driven by the cutting shaft for rotating an impeller so as to draw wood shavings from the shaving collecting member into the blower mechanism and out of a discharge member.
In the aforesaid wood planing machine, the shaving collecting member is configured to shield only a top side of the cutting shaft. Accordingly, the motor housing is uncovered, which exposes operators to a high risk of getting burned due to accidental contact with the motor housing during operation of the wood planing machine.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a wood planing machine with a shield member for a motor unit and a cutter member so as to overcome the aforesaid drawback.
Accordingly, the wood planing machine of this invention comprises:
a mounting frame having upper and lower ends opposite to each other in an upright direction;
a support carriage mounted on the mounting frame and movable between the upper and lower ends in the upright direction, the support carriage having left and right sides spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction transverse to the upright direction, and front and rear sides spaced apart from each other in a transverse direction relative to the longitudinal and upright directions;
a motor unit operable so as to deliver a driving force and having a motor housing mounted on the support carriage, the motor housing having an upper housing part that projects upwardly relative to the support carriage, the upper housing part including a rear wall proximate to the rear side, and a front wall opposite to the rear wall in the transverse direction;
a cutter member mounted on the support carriage, located between the motor housing and the front side, and coupled to and driven by the motor unit, the cutter member having a top side; and
a shield member mounted on the support carriage and pivotable between covering and uncovering positions, the shield member having a motor shielding portion that is configured to cover the upper housing part of the motor housing when the shield member is disposed at the covering position, and a cutter shielding portion that extends from the motor shielding portion and that is configured to shield the top side of the cutter member when the shield member is disposed at the covering position.